System and Method for Using Recyclables for Thermal Storage

ABSTRACT

A thermal storage system ( 100 ) and related method, comprising: a thermal collector ( 101 ); a thermal storage sink ( 102 ); at least one thermal storage transport conduit ( 8 ) for transporting thermal energy from the thermal collector to the thermal storage sink for storage therein; at least one thermal delivery conduit ( 11 ) for transporting the thermal energy from the thermal storage sink to an indoor-air space for use therein; a thermal storage liquid ( 21 ) within the thermal storage sink; and baled waste tires ( 14 ) for enhancing thermal storage. Also, a thermal storage sink and related method comprising: a sink ( 102 ); liquid ( 21 ) within the sink; and at least one recyclable material comprising baled tires ( 14 ) for at least one of the following functions: providing insulation, providing a free flow of liquid therethrough, providing thermal mass, providing structural support to a said sink, resisting settling of a surface above said sink, buffering shock to said sink, protecting pipes or conduits located within or serving said sink, averting deflection, eliminating or reducing costly drilling, reducing a need for plastic tubing, eliminating casing, reducing thermal sink construction costs.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims benefit of pending provisional application 61/156,488 filed Feb. 28, 2009, hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to the use of baled used tires, baled recycled plastic, glass waste and/or construction debris in the construction of a thermal storage sink or aquifer, often placed under a road, highway, driveway or parking lot.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the past large thermal storage sinks, herein defined as containing at least 10,000 gallons of liquid, have been mostly natural, because of cost constraints. However, this invention which does away with drilling and uses recyclable material with thermal liquid filling void spaces, which can be placed anywhere. This“green technology” has the potential to simultaneously provide new manmade sources of thermal energy, and overcome certain waste and recycling problems.

Heat or cold (the absence of heat) can be stored in a liquid, solid, or gas. The body that stores this thermal energy is known as a thermal storage sink. These sinks are part of a thermal storage system, natural or manmade. Thermal storage systems include a thermal source such as the sun or under the earth's surface for heat, and outer space for cold. Such systems may include a collector, often a transport mechanism, a sink and a utilization point. Many of these components can be one and the same as in the case of the ground itself which can serve as both the collector of heat or cold and the storage facility or sink in which the thermal energy is contained, as in the case of a geothermal system. Often thermal sinks have within them a transport medium such as water or some other liquid which can transport the thermal energy from or to the sink.

This disclosure is concerned with large thermal sinks holding at least 10,000 gallons of liquid within one or more cell, which has a liner, natural or otherwise, at least one compartment, and makes use of a recyclable material which structurally supports the sink, or adds thermal mass or insulation to it. For the sake of this disclosure the term sink can include a series of sinks or compartments which need not be immediately contiguous to one another but which in aggregate include at least 10,000 gallons or more of liquid, and usually find themselves in the same thermal storage system. Thus, for example, if we were to have a hot sink which housed 5,000 gallons and a cold sink which housed 5,000 gallons and the two were within a system that provided for the heating and cooling needs of a structure, then the combined total of 10,000 gallons would so classify as elements of a thermal sink of 10,000 gallons even though the sink or sink system itself had separate compartments such that the liquid within each amounted to less than 10,000 gallons.

A thermal storage sink can be natural or manmade. It can be above ground. It can be a depression in the earth with an open or covered top. Or, it can be below ground. For the sake of this disclosure there are two different types of thermal sinks: one type is where the natural heat or cold of a body is simply utilized and the other where additional heat or cold is added to the sink, stored there, and then extracted therefrom, with a minimum of thermal loss due to insulation. We shall differentiate the two types of sinks by calling the former a “geo thermal” sink and the latter a “thermal added” sink.

While all sinks have some sort of insulation, usually the earth itself, “thermal added” sinks seek to enhance natural insulation with some form of manmade material. Thermal sinks in this disclosure concern themselves with a body or reservoir made by man, or improved on by man, where there is thermal storage capacity and where a great body of liquid (of at least 10,000 gallons in total) is contained therein. Thermal mass, insulation and structural support are all important qualities which relate to manmade thermal sinks. Such sinks often utilize a liner, manmade or natural. They are often partially or completely below ground, where cave in can be a problem. If at least a part of the material is located within the sink, it can help to support the sink itself.

Manmade thermal storage sinks are costly and the larger they are the more costly they become. Recyclable material can be had at little or no cost. Some recyclable materials have good insulation properties, some can provide structural support, some can provide thermal mass, and some can provide all three such benefits. Waste tires or plastic (often in baled form), ground waste glass and construction debris, if used in a thermal storage sink, can serve a useful purpose and need not be placed in a landfill, thus providing the above-noted benefits while simultaneously freeing up valuable space for other materials man disposes of. In addition, using these waste materials in manmade thermal storage sinks, eliminates the danger of some of these wastes catching fire or serving as a breeding ground for mosquitoes and rats, which can give rise to disease.

Many different types of waste products have been used in thermal storage systems comprising thermal sinks. As often as not they are placed within such systems as much to get rid of the waste as to enhance the thermal sink or system due to tipping fees involved. One such waste product is tires which have excellent insulating properties and can, when utilized properly, also provide excellent structural support.

Unbaled waste tires have been used as part of a thermal storage sink and collector in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,223,666, and 4,248,209. There, they are housed within a manmade structure above ground where minimal thermal loss occurs.

In U.S. Pat. No. 5,941,238 unbaled waste tires were also used as part of a thermal storage vessel which could be placed above or below ground. Here, the heat storage vessel is actually formed by attaching two metal plates, one to each end of a stack of waste tires, and the bead of each tire is firmly anchored to the next in the stack while a sealant is used to make a watertight container in which liquid is placed, while foam or vermiculite is placed about the heat storage container itself for insulation of the liquid within.

Plastic jugs, glass jars, metal cans, paper clips, garbage bags, and newspaper are all used in the construction of a solar thermal storage system in application US 2007/0012313, which even uses a plastic garbage can as a thermal storage sink. U.S. Pat. No. 5,201,606 uses fly ash in concrete. U.S. Pat. No. 4,411,255 uses masonry blocks with a hollow space therein loosely filled with cylindrical metal, plastic or glass containers that contain water.

Up until now the prior art dealing with insulation of a thermal sink is very sparse in its specifics, more often than not referring to the general category of a layer of insulation. U.S. Pat. No. 3,418,812 refers to polyurethane foam or foam panels for insulation. U.S. Pat. No. 3,556,917 discloses a rigid polyurethane foam block for insulation purposes. U.S. Pat. No. 6,994,156 refers to fiberglass, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,129,177 uses rigid insulation blocks. U.S. Pat. No. 6,000,438 uses phase change material insulation. U.S. Pat. No. 6,192,703 uses an insulated vacuum panel. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,491,910 and 3,481,504 suggest using expanded perlite. But in most cases, for example, as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,577,679, the earth alone acts as the thermal buffer for the thermal storage sink.

When it comes to structural support of a manmade thermal sink, concrete is used, as is metal, earth, or fill of a porous material such as sand and/or gravel. But no teaching or suggestion has been made of using recyclable material such as bales of plastic or tires, ground glass, construction debris, or concrete blocks filled with tires, baled or otherwise, as structural support for a thermal storage sink. Baled tires have been used for support for retaining wall systems, see U.S. Pat. No. 5,795,106, but do not appear to have ever been employed in connection with a thermal storage system, for enhancing thermal storage via structural support, insulation and thermal mass.

Manmade thermal storage sinks usually are made in one of three ways. First, they may be made by scooping out a depression in the earth, placing a liner on the surface of the depression, placing sand or gravel in the depression and then filling the cavity (thermal storage sink) with water. Second, they are made by leaving out the fill within the thermal storage sink and so contain water alone. By placing in the fill, however, the sink receives additional structural support and now can easily have an insulated roof overhead and so make use of the ground above—for a pond, a parking lot, a roadway, a structure, an ice rink, a tennis court or just grass and shrubs. A third alternative is to build a thermal storage unit above the ground such as a swimming pool, or to use an above-ground tank.

Manmade aquifers can serve as thermal storage sinks and are constructed in two ways: In the first method, the manmade aquifer is constructed by making an excavation, lining the excavation with a plastic pond liner and filling on top of the liner with a round, uniformly-sized gravel. A geotextile (fabric designed for use in earthwork) is placed over the gravel, and then a lawn, parking lot, roadway or tennis court can be constructed on top. Water is stored in the openings between the stones. This method has been used for many years and was reported of in 1997 in the San Antonio Business Journal in an article entitled “New methods provide less costly ways to conserve water.” It has also been utilized in U.S. Pat. No. 6,994,156.

In the second method, known as the drumstick, a manmade aquifer is constructed by auguring a deep hole and under-reaming (flaring) it at the lower end. A corrugated metal pipe with a welded end cap is placed into the hole and grouted in place, and a lid system is added for safety.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Disclosed herein is a thermal storage system and related method, comprising: a thermal collector; a thermal storage sink; at least one thermal storage transport conduit for transporting thermal energy from the thermal collector to the thermal storage sink for storage therein; at least one thermal delivery conduit for transporting the thermal energy from the thermal storage sink to an indoor-air space for use therein; a thermal storage liquid within the thermal storage sink; and baled waste tires for enhancing thermal storage.

Also disclosed herein is a thermal storage sink and related method comprising: a sink; liquid within the sink; and at least one recyclable material comprising baled tires for at least one of the following functions: providing insulation, providing a free flow of liquid therethrough, providing thermal mass, providing structural support to a said sink, resisting settling of a surface above said sink, buffering shock to said sink, protecting pipes or conduits located within or serving said sink, averting deflection, eliminating or reducing costly drilling, reducing a need for plastic tubing, eliminating casing, reducing thermal sink construction costs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The features of the invention believed to be novel are set forth in the appended claims. The invention, however, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing(s) summarized below:

FIG. 1 is a side plan view illustrating how a heat sink in a preferred embodiment of the invention is supplied with heat and how it stores the heat.

FIG. 2 is a side plan view illustrating how a cold sink in a preferred embodiment of the invention is supplied with and stores the cold (absence of heat).

FIG. 3 is a plan view illustrating two possible configurations of baled waste tires within the thermal sink, for example, not limitation.

FIG. 4 is a plan view illustrating how the rectangular bales of various recyclable materials can insulate the thermal storage sink from the surrounding environs, e.g., earth.

FIG. 5 is a plan view illustrating another embodiment for insulating the thermal storage sink from the surrounding environs, e.g., earth.

FIG. 6 is a plan view illustrating an embodiment comprising a large thermal mass of individual bales of recyclables.

FIG. 7 is a plan view illustrating yet another embodiment, comprising recyclables only along the perimeter of the heat/cool sink. Note that the features of FIGS. 7 and 8 may be combined, to provide baled tires and/or recyclables within and/or around the perimeter.

FIG. 8 is a plan view illustrating yet another embodiment, comprising bales of plastic which float while providing insulation.

FIG. 9 is a plan view illustrating the use of recyclables to insulate the conduits running to and from a heat/cold collector, and/or to and from the building or other indoor air space to be heated or cooled.

FIG. 10A is a side view of a manmade geo thermal sink wherein baled tires provide structural support.

FIG. 10B is a side view of a man made geo thermal sink wherein construction debris provides structural support.

FIG. 11 is a top down view of a geo thermal system wherein baled tires provide structural support.

FIG. 12 is a top down view of a geo thermal system wherein there are a series of geo thermal sinks.

FIG. 13 shows a side view of a manmade geo thermal sink wherein baled tires and construction debris provide structural support both to the sink itself and allows for a means of replenishment of the sink with groundwater from close by.

FIG. 14 shows a side view of a manmade geo thermal sink wherein construction debris provides structural support both to the sink itself and allows for a means of replenishment of the sink with groundwater close by.

FIG. 15 is a side view of a structure which is connected via a pipe to a thermal sink which is connected to an underground spring.

FIG. 16 is a side view of a structure which is connected via pipes to both a thermal sink and an underground stream.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention uses baled tires, baled plastic, ground recycled glass and construction debris in varying combinations in either a thermal storage sink or a thermal storage system within which a thermal storage sink is contained. It uses these items to provide thermal storage mass, structural support, and/or insulation.

A novel feature of the present invention, with reference to the usual ways of making a thermal storage sink, is to replace the fill material inside the thermal storage sink with baled tires, baled plastic, ground recycled glass, construction debris or to place loose plastic or ground waste glass within a block and to add one or all of these forms of recycled fill inside a thermal storage sink if fill had not been used. Fill can add thermal mass and can simultaneously provide structural support. Also, by using recycled fill, it is easy to bring the baled material close to the surface on which people can walk. Therefore, a cover can be placed over the sink for added insulation if a roof to the sink has not already been used. In one embodiment of this invention, recycled baled fill is placed around the outer perimeter of a thermal sink in block form. Blocks, or bales made from recyclables, or either containing recyclables within them, can also be the foundation for an above-ground thermal sink. As used herein, recyclable fill material may include baled, or unbaled waste tires, which are of particular interest for use in this invention, as will be discussed at length below.

Throughout this disclosure and claims, reference will often be made to the term “baled waste tires.” It is to be understood that “baled” refers to tires which have been compacted into a bundle and then tied together in some manner or form, such as through a wire fastening device, and/or a fastening device of plastic, rope, cord, cable etc. Further it refers to such bundles even if—after being installed into the thermal storage sink—the fastening device has been purposely removed or has deteriorated and broken as a result of wear, tear, or time. As long as the bundle was tied together at any time in the process whether it be during initial compression, transport or installation within the thermal storage system, it shall be regarded as “baled.”

These baled waste tires are used for enhancing thermal storage, which as used herein, include increasing the thermal mass of the thermal storage sink. Tire bales have a predicted Specific Heat (Heat Capacity) of 0.18 Btu/lb ° F., which compares favorably with other common thermal mass materials like sand (0.20), stone (0.20), and concrete (0.15). So, the heat or cold storage capacity of tire bales should be excellent as well. For instance the tire bales alone—at a 10° F. temperature drop should have a storage capacity of: 130 bales*1 T/bale*2000 lbs/T*10 deg F.*0.18=468,000 Btu, which is quite excellent.

Baled tires have excellent insulating characteristics as well. A Colorado School of Mines study, predicts that the thermal conductivity (U) of tire bales can range from 0.120-0.124 Btu/hr ° F. ft, which converts to an R-value range of 0.694-0.672 per inch, or a total R-value of 40.0-41.6 for a 60″ tire bale wall. This would equate to approximately 11.75 inches of fiberglass batt insulation—about what one could put into a 12″ thick stud wall. This is about 3 time as much insulation as goes into a standard 4″ stud wall, and is very good wall insulation by conventional standards. This material should yield super-insulation-like performance if the entire wall is assembled and completed properly from interior to exterior. Thus a thermal storage sink which is lined with baled tires should provide excellent insulation against heat (or cold) loss.

The thermal insulation capabilities of baled tires increase further when they are above the water table. In fact baled tires with air within the voids have a thermal conductivity, k (effective) of 0.15 to 0.21 W/m-degree C. (or of 0.085 to 0.120 Btu/hr-ft-degree F.) when the bales hold 50 to 10 percent air therein. (This measurement was taken from Report Number CDOT-DTD-R-2005-2 from the Colorado Department of Transportation Research Branch entitled“Tire Bales in Highway Applications: Feasibility and Properties Evaluation”.) According to this report “Such a level of thermal conductivity is approximately eight times lower than typical granular soils.” So this tire “waste” is more valuable when used in a thermal added storage sink than the very soils it replaces. Air itself has a thermal conductivity of 0.024 while water has a thermal conductivity of 0.58 at 25 degrees C. In other words air is 24 times better as an insulator than water. Thus tire bales placed above the water line have a significantly better insulation factor than if placed below the water line. Yet either way they still offer very good insulation, and remain far better than granular soils placed in a similar location or a similar environment.

As an added benefit, these baled waste tires add structural support so the system does not disintegrate, and they have excellent load bearing capabilities. Studies have shown that when used as a structural element, they will deflect much like any other piece of rubber. However, tests have proven they have been “deflected” considerably to become “bales” in the first place, and the load required to deflect them further than is acceptable (more than even a house will ever weigh). Their deflection rate is roughly 1/20^(th) of what has been called a “failure” (150,000# on an unsupported bale; usually when a wire breaks). In other words, one will never exert that much load on a tire bale wall used as a foundation wall. Further, all tests run in the single-bale or single-stack of bales mode do not reflect the true usage/deflection of the bale in practice (constrained by other bales in the wall).

It should also be noted that when a stack of bales containing baled tires, ten high, covered by local earth distributed by a 70,000# front-end loader is ridden over by heavy equipment, the bottom bales show no apparent compression or effect of bearing that load. Tests have shown that there is little (½″ or so) if any measurable difference between the bales at the top of the stack and the ones at the bottom. This is while being under a load of more than 9 tons each (bales contained by stacking immediately adjacent to each other as a wall). The bale at the bottom is bearing more than 720#psf with little measurable deflection.

In this disclosure, when reference is made, particularly in the claims, to “unbaled” waste tires, or to “waste tires” simply by itself, this refers to waste tires which had not been baled and had not been compacted, but still have their original shape and volume. For instance if a pipe or thermal conduit is placed through a bunch of tires which have no fastening device connecting one to another and where the tires still retain their original size and shape, then these shall be considered “unbaled.”

“Waste tires” refer to tires which are not new but have been used on some sort of vehicle previously, whether it be a car, truck, farm implement, construction or mining vehicle, or airplane.

It should also be pointed out that the terms tubing or piping may be used interchangeably, and may refer to plastic, copper, or any other suitable material. For example, while, e.g., plastic or copper tubes/pipes might be arrayed on the surface of a parking lot to gather heat or cold, copper piping is about 62 times superior as a conductor and so it is preferable as opposed to plastic.

Finally, “recyclable fill” specifies material recyclable in nature such as tires, baled tires, rubber, plastic, construction debris, ground glass, etc. but not limited thereto, used to fill up a space within the thermal storage system. Said fill material may replace dirt, gravel, stone, sand, etc. preexisting in the location where the thermal storage system is constructed.

One embodiment of the present invention uses bales of tires within the thermal storage sink in place of porous fill. The remainder of the sink and pipes contains water which brings either heat or cold into the chamber of the thermal sink and store the heat or cold. (Thermodynamically, of course, it is only heat which is stored, and cold is the absence of heat. With that understanding, we shall at times refer in this disclosure to “storing heat or cold” with the understanding that “storing cold” really means preventing or minimizing the intrusion of heat energy into a thermal storage medium which is cold. Similarly, it is to be understood that “storing” or “transporting” “thermal energy” is intended to refer to both the storage and transport of heat, and to the storage and transport of the absence of heat (cold).)

Tire bales are preferably either cylindrical in shape or square or rectangular. These fill the inner core and act as support around their outer boundary and simultaneously provide good insulation and heat mass so that thermal energy is not lost in a thermal added storage sink. These also act as support in the event a roof or cover is to be put over the sink and provide footing so that a thermal cover can be placed over the sink or taken off if the space above is not going to be utilized.

Bales of waste plastic often have a specific gravity less than water and so will float, and so may be employed where no fill heavier than water is used. Floating bales are also advantageous because they reduce upward heat loss.

Construction debris and ground glass can be used as fill or added to the bales themselves for added weight and the blocks themselves can encapsulate this form of waste material.

Insulation for a thermal added storage sink is tremendously important, where additional thermal energy is added to the sink above what would naturally occur there. Without proper insulation, vast quantities of thermal energy can escape into the atmosphere or ground in a thermal added storage sink, whereupon far more thermal energy has to be pumped into the sink than would ordinarily be the case if all the thermal energy could be easily contained and then extracted when necessary from the core or the sink itself. Presently in underground thermal added storage sinks, it is necessary that the sink be heated or cooled, as well as the area around the sink, up to as much as 30 to 50 feet beyond the perimeter of the sink. The surrounding environs often absorb a good deal of thermal energy and over a period of 6 months to a year as much as 30% of the heat or cold added to the sink can be lost to these environs. This buffer then keeps the core insulated, but unfortunately a great deal of the thermal energy is lost in the process. Therefore a good insulating material must be found to do away with much of the thermal loss and to lessen ramp up time before the thermal heat sink can operate effectively. This insulating material must also be very inexpensive if the sink is of any size.

Thermal storage sinks are often ponds or containers holding liquid or at least partially holding liquid. Such sinks are known as thermal reservoirs. Most liquids tend to absorb heat or cold more quickly than solids and more quickly give it up. Plus, liquids tend to store more thermal energy than gases. Since the thermal collector, the thermal sink and the end use location are not often the same, liquid also serves as a very good transport medium for taking the heat or cold to another point.

Without insulation a thermal added storage sink, will lose thermal energy to the surrounding environment over time. This is good in a geo thermal sink but is a negative influence in an added energy thermal storage sink. In construction of this invention, bulldozers and other construction equipment dig out a depression or a large trench in the earth. This depression can be quite deep (perhaps 30 to 50 feet) below the surface, but at the very least the chamber, aquifer or thermal storage sink should be below the frost line. The earth taken from the hole is placed to one side to be used later. Since the hole will retain water, it must have a liner which can be of a natural material such as clay of sufficient depth to prevent leakage from the thermal storage sink, or it must include a manmade impermeable liner (i.e., a physical barrier), or it may have both. This skin is placed over the surface of the depression and along its sides. For purposes of this disclosure a liner may refer to a natural or manmade barrier which prevents leakage or it may refer to a combination of manmade and natural barriers. In most cases pipes are laid on top of this. Within these pipes will be water or glycol which will take heated or cold liquid down into the chamber from the surface directly overhead or from some other location in close proximity thereto. The hole is then filled with a fill which may have a recyclable porous material, some of which may be a baled recyclable material which will allow water to seep around it and/or through it. Over the top of this material is placed a geo-grid, tar paper, and/or a filter fabric, which will prevent the soil or other material placed above it from drifting down into the chamber and eventually filling the chamber. Earth which had been taken from the hole when it was made is placed back over the geo-grid, tar paper, and/or filter fabric, and in most cases pavement or equivalent material suitable for a roadway, driveway, parking lot or walkway is constructed directly above this manmade thermal added storage sink or in close proximity thereto. As an alternative, grass could be grown overhead or the ground might serve just about any other purpose. Drains with catch basins allow water to seep into and fill the thermal storage sink. Vents are needed to allow air to escape when water is filling the storage area. Permanent openings must be screened to prevent insect infestation. Filters, diversions or settling tanks are needed on the inflow line to prevent trash and organics from entering the storage area. Once the aquifer is filled, normal intake openings are shut and water is shunted elsewhere.

One advantage of the present invention is that the water does not have to be entirely clean because water within the aquifer does not serve as a drinking source. Thus, it is not a concern if some leeching occurs from the recyclables into the water. In fact the aquifer can accept storm water runoff which might contain pollutants from asphalt or tar which would have drained elsewhere and would have otherwise polluted rivers and streams, although it might be originally filled from an underground stream or by making use of ground water.

The present invention makes use of baled recyclable material, more specifically baled and compacted tires and plastic. It can make use of used inner tubes and almost any waste product which might find its way into a landfill which would take an inordinately long time to bio-degrade and which could be used as a structural support for the roof of a manmade thermal storage sink or to keep the sides from caving in. It can make use of concrete, used pavement, asphalt shingles, tires, etc. If the material itself does not lend itself to acting as a support, the compacting and baling processes will enhance that material's supportive capabilities.

By placing recyclable material in a bailer and compacting it under great pressure heat is built up. This causes the plastic to combine. In the event the bale is found to be too light, and if the way in which the bales are placed in the aquifer would lead to these bales floating, heavier waste material can be added, and when all the ingredients are compacted together, the binding process would make the bale into one heavier than water unit. Compacting and binding also prevent the bale from disintegrating back into its various components over time. When pressure is applied, these materials will quickly spring back and restore the chamber to its full capacity once again.

Tires can, for example not limitation, be baled into two different forms: first into long hollow tubes, and secondly into a rectangular configuration. By placing tires one next to another so as to form long hollow tubes, the tires themselves become a pipe. By placing these pipes close to one another within a hole where the ends of these pipes butt up against the outer earthen walls, they prevent the outer walls from collapsing. By compacting the tires and then using the compacted tires to make the pipe, the strength of the pipe is enhanced markedly. By placing rows of this piping material next to one another and on top of one another, the size of the underground reservoir can become immense and the depth of the aquifer can be increased significantly.

Besides being baled as long pipes, the tires can be compacted and baled into a rectangular shape, much like a concrete block. This adds to their construction capability. They can be laid one on top of another more easily and so made to form a wall or a block-like inner core for the heat or cold sink itself. Drawings of various configurations will now be discussed below.

Heat Sink Aquifer

FIG. 1 illustrates how the thermal added sink 102 is part of a thermal added system 100, which is supplied with heat, and how it stores said heat. Specifically, rays 1 from the sun strike the upper layer of the finished asphalt surface 15 or darkened concrete surface 25 of the parking lot, driveway, or roadway 2. (This surface 15, 25 will be referred to as a thermal gathering surface comprising a thermal collector (heat collector) 101 which may be the surface itself or a separate device for enhancing energy collection including solar energy collection, though it may also include any other ground surface substantially atop the sink.) These rays 1, once having made contact with that surface, heat it to as high as 54.45 Celsius (130 degrees Fahrenheit) in summertime, and further energy is provided in the event of enhancement by solar collectors. Tubing 8, configured in an array, is placed within the asphalt or concrete close to the upper surface which absorbs heat from roadway 2. The heat from the concrete or asphalt warms the liquid 20 within the tubes and this liquid is pumped through the underlayment 3 of the roadway through the fill 5 and down into the reservoir or manmade aquifer 6 containing water 21 or brine 26 where the liquid 20 discharges that heat. Also illustrated is the top waterline 16. The heat discharging liquid 20 than passes through the bottom layer of compacted tires 14 just above a liner 18 by means of a pipe 22 within the lower level tire pipes and transfers heat to the water in the reservoir or aquifer or thermal storage sink itself 6. This same liquid then goes into a reservoir 23 and from there is drawn up again by means of a pump 4 back into the array of tubes 8 within the upper layer of asphalt 2, or darkened concrete 25, just below the parking lot's surface. Whereupon the liquid gains heat once more from the parking lot's surface and takes it down into the aquifer, in a continuous, iterative process. This process continues ad infinitum until such time as one or more heat sensors 9 placed within the parking lot's surface signals (17) the pump 4 to shut off because the temperature of the asphalt or darkened concrete does not exceed that of the manmade aquifer, or does not exceed that of the manmade aquifer by a predetermined amount. The pump 4 is turned on again once the asphalt or darkened concrete is detected by sensors 9 to be at a higher temperature than water within the aquifer, or higher by a predetermined amount.

In addition, in summertime any heat source within a building can allow heat to be transferred to the heat sink aquifer as well.

In winter time when heat is required to heat a nearby building (indoor air space), water from the aquifer passes through a filter 10 through a thermal sink water supply line 11 to a heat exchanger which than supplies heat to the building (indoor space to be heated). This indoor air space is schematically illustrated as 905 in FIG. 9. After aquifer water has passed through the heat exchanger it is returned to the aquifer through a return pipe 12. (Most often pipes 11 and 12 are separate and operate on a continuous loop, but for the sake of this drawing and simplicity the drawing shows the two pipes as one). Thus, the heat stored during the summer is used to heat an indoor air space during the winter, and the only energy required is that which is needed to move the liquid between the upper surface of the parking lot and the manmade reservoir, and to move the fluid within the heat sink to the heating system of the indoor air space and back.

Because the aquifer is below the frost line, and because of the thermal mass of earth around and on top of the aquifer, heat loss of the water within the aquifer is kept to a minimum, and the aquifer will remain hot for months. The compacted tires within the aquifer add to the thermal mass of the system. Over time the reservoirs temperature will drop down in the colder months as heat is drawn from it. But that temperature will be raised again in the summer time, or during periods of intense sunlight, in other seasons. This system should function for years on end with minimal maintenance, upkeep or expense.

It is also to be observed, because the heat sink aquifer of FIG. 1 contains water 21, or brine 26, which is heated, and because tubes 8 may already run beneath a roadway or driveway or walkway or parking lot, etc., that during cold weather, the heat stored in the aquifer can be circulated back through the tubes 8 so as to de-ice the roadway, without the need for plowing, salt, or any of the usual means for clearing a roadway of snow and/or sleet and/or ice and/or frost (frozen precipitate). This is a second way in which the stored heat may be applied to useful benefit.

Also illustrated, to be discussed later, is a conduit or pipe 24 which is attached to a fire hydrant 19 which allows for a fire truck to pump water from the thermal storage sink for a fire emergency. This is an additional use for the water stored in the aquifer.

Finally, it is also beneficial in all embodiments of the invention, to provide an optional vapor barrier 13 or liner 18 above the top liquid line 16 of the thermal storage sink for preventing liquid or vapor from entering said thermal storage sink from above. It is further beneficial to provide a protective barrier 7 of geotextile or equivalent material to prevent materials from above the thermal sink from dropping down into the thermal sink.

Cold Sink Aquifer

A thermal storage sink can also function in a way to store cold as opposed to heat, as now illustrated in FIG. 2 which is a slightly-modified version of FIG. 1. This too is another version of a thermal added sink 102 within a thermal added system 100. Here, a subterranean cold sink water reservoir 6 is constructed below the frost line in the same manner as was the heat reservoir. Again, this preferably uses baled tires 14 in a pipe-like configuration, as illustrated. Water 21 or brine 26, within the underground reservoir 6 is made colder during the late fall and wintertime by tubes 8 in the thermal collector (cold collector) 201 which again is a part of the overhead parking lot, roadway, or pathway. Again illustrated is the top waterline 16. Tubes 8 are arrayed and placed just below the asphalt 15 or concrete surface 25. (Again, this surface 15, 25 may itself be a thermal collector (cold collector) 201, or may contain a separate associated apparatus to enhance cold collection.) The parking lot, roadway, driveway or path serves as a cold collector and is placed just above the thermal storage sink or reservoir 6 or in close proximity thereto. Water or antifreeze or brine or glycol or an equivalent substance 20 passes through the tubes 8 and loses heat to the parking lot as it passes through the array. This serves a dual purpose, simultaneously defrosting the roadway because the liquid medium will be warmer than the parking lot itself and over time making the aquifer itself colder and colder. A pump 4 pushes the liquid through the tubes 8 which are arrayed and embedded in the upper layer of the asphalt or concrete. As the heat in the liquid within the tubes 8 is dissipated in this process, the liquid in the tubes becomes lower in temperature. It is then pumped back into the cold sink reservoir where it than passes through one or more level of tires or pipes within the cold sink where it then absorbs heat from the cold sink aquifer and so lowers the temperature in the aquifer. Meanwhile the liquid 20 in the tube or pipe 22, which is passing through the lower row of compacted tire pipes, increases in temperature. That liquid passes into the reservoir 23 and is pumped back up to the surface of the parking lot until such time as the temperature in the cold sink reservoir equals or is less than the temperature of the asphalt or concrete surface (by a predetermined amount), and/or until such time as the cold collector needs to be defrosted by the warmth in the cold sink reservoir which is still higher than the overhead cold collector. One added feature required for the cold sink that is not needed for the heat sink is an air pump or compressor 202 which blows any liquid out of the array of pipes 8 once the water pump 4 ceases to function. 204 is an air pipe leading between the compressor and the pipe 8. This purging prevents liquid in those pipes above the frost line from freezing and so allows water to be used as a thermal transport medium in place of antifreeze or glycol or brine, which is less costly. Attached to the reservoir is a bleeder valve 203 which allows air to escape from the reservoir when it is opened and so allows liquid to fill the reservoir rather than be prevented from doing so by the air within the reservoir itself.

In summer time or when there is a need for air conditioning within a nearby structure, water within the cool sink aquifer 6 passes through a filter 10 and then via a conduit 11 into the building (indoor space to be cooled, designated as 905 in FIG. 9) where a heat exchanger uses the cold fluid to extract heat from the building via a water and/or air circulation system within that building. Thereafter, the water returns 12 to the aquifer having risen somewhat in temperature.

Over the summer months the water within the cold sink reservoir will rise somewhat but cold will be restored to it as weather conditions moderate and as winter comes on.

In relation to FIGS. 1 and 2, while we refer to summer and winter cycles, it is also understood that in general these systems can be run based on hot and cold cycles which are not necessarily seasonal. For example, not limitation, the cold storage system can store cold overnight and then use the cold during the daytime, or the heat storage system can store daytime heat and use the heat overnight.

FIG. 3 shows two configurations of baled tires within the thermal sink. The view is taken partially from the side of FIGS. 1 and 2, along view 3-3. First, toward the bottom of this Figure, and not explicitly shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, there is a rectangular-shaped bale of compacted tires which keeps the bottom insulated from the ground below. (To be precise, three-dimensionally, these bales are really substantially shaped as cuboids, i.e., rectangular parallelepipeds.) This type of bale 301 is different only in shape from the pipelike bales 14 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in which the open “donut” centers of the tires align to form a substantially pipelike configuration. In this exemplary embodiment illustrated by FIG. 3, the pipe-like bales sit on top of the layer of rectangular bales. If the rectangular bales 301 are situated about the perimeter of the thermal storage sink as will subsequently be illustrated in FIGS. 4-8, then these bales serve as an insulation liner 302 about the thermal storage sink. As mentioned previously, a Colorado School of Mines study predicts that the thermal conductivity (U) of tire bales can range from 0.120-0.124 Btu/hr degrees Fahrenheit per foot, which converts to an R-value range of 0.694-0.672 per inch, or a total R-value of 40.0-41.6 for a 60″ tire bale wall, which would equate to approximately 11.75 inches of fiberglass batt insulation. Tire bales 301 provide super-insulation-like performance when the perimeter of the sink is so lined with them and should well contain the thermal energy within the sink itself. Meanwhile water 21 fills all voids within the thermal storage sink below the water line 16 both within the bales and in the empty spaces where there are no bales. The pipe-like bales not only add thermal mass, but the shape of the pipe-like bales allows for a natural nesting pattern which simultaneously gives structural support to the interior of the thermal storage sink itself and so prevents cave ins from the ground outside.

FIG. 4 shows how the rectangular bales 301 can completely insulate the thermal storage sink from the surrounding earth, providing a thermal liner 302. In this illustration, the thermal storage sink 6 is an open pond 400. Here, the cavity e.g., thermal storage sink comprises a physical liner 18 placed on the floors and walls thereof for simply containing water and deterring water from passing through the perimeter of the thermal storage sink. On top of this liner 18 is placed sand or gravel 401 so as to prevent any sharp wires from the bales from perforating the liner if the liner itself is made of plastic or some other material which could rip or tear. The liner can also be an impervious clay if such is the desire of the builder, or a combination of both clay and some manmade substance. On top of this are the bales containing recyclable material. These can comprise bales of plastic 402, and/or bales of waste tires 301. Or, they may even comprise bales containing plastic and some other material of a higher weight which prevents the bales from floating to the surface 403. However, bales of plastic can be placed below tire bales which have less of a tendency to float. The bales can even be concrete blocks with recycled tires, plastic or waste glass inside 404. It is understood that while all of these materials are illustrated, one or more of these materials or equivalent materials may be employed in any particular implementation. The bales on the outer perimeter rise clear to the ground surface 405. Within the thermal storage chamber is water 21 or some other liquid such as brine 26. Baled waste tires can also be situated within 30 feet of the thermal storage sinks physical liner, including possibly some which are situated within the thermal storage sink itself. In other words, the baled waste tires may be within the thermal storage sink adding heat mass thereto, or outside the thermal storage sink usually no more than 30 feet away for the greatest benefit thereby insulating the thermal storage sink from the surrounding environment, or both.

FIG. 5 shows still another embodiment of a thermal storage sink 6, e.g., pond. 400 In this embodiment the liner 18 wraps around the rectangular bales on the walls of the thermal sink situated on the outer perimeter. These recycled material bales may be baled tires 301, baled plastic 402, weighted baled plastic 403, concrete blocks with recycled material 404, or some other material. The liner 18 than wraps around the outer perimeter as illustrated so that there is a barrier of air which fills up the void spaces 503 in the outer perimeter's bales. This liner 18 serves as a physical barrier to prevent water in the aquifer from entering the surrounding earth 504 within which the cavity resides. The baled waste tires, to the extent that they are situated near the liner (proximate, and inside and/or outside thereof) serve to provide insulation against heat (or cold) loss. Plastic or vinyl or similar materials known in the art to be suitable may be employed for the former function as a physical barrier). Meanwhile ground recycled glass 502 serves as the porous material as well as construction debris 501 within the sink itself. This embodiment of the inventions shows a physical liner 18 and a thermal liner 302.

Below the ground level 405 within the sink 6 is water 21 or brine 26, waste glass 502, and construction debris 501. Water 21, or brine 26, fill the voids between the construction debris within the sink.

FIG. 6 illustrates a thermal storage sink below ground level 405 which is a large thermal mass of individual recycled bales, be they compacted tires 301, compacted waste plastic 402, or bales with plastic and construction debris or something to make them heavier such as ground glass or construction debris 403. Between the bales are conduits or pipes 22 which take the thermal storage energy from the thermal collector and other pipes which run through the mass and transport it from the storage sink to heat exchangers in the building itself (not shown). This thermal storage sink 6 has a liner 18 and sand and/or gravel 401 and/or waste glass 502 below the large block. This large thermal mass could just as easily be above ground and the liner could wrap around the outer perimeter of bales. Any of these large blocks of bales which make up the thermal storage sink can contain water 21 within, or not. In the event they do not contain water, they will not need a liner 18, especially if they are above ground. In this case, earthen fill 504 surrounds the sink.

FIG. 7 shows a thermal storage sink pond 400 which is above ground level 405 much like an above ground swimming pool. In this case there is no porous material inside. Schematically illustrated here are bales of rubber tires 301 and/or other recycled plastic 402, concrete block with recycled materials therein 404, water 21, and a liner 18.

FIG. 8 shows a thermal sink pond 400 where bales of plastic 402 which can float provide insulation so that thermal energy stored in the sink does not escape into the atmosphere. A cover 801 can be placed over the bales 402 to prevent thermal energy from escaping between the bales floating on the pond's surface. Illustrated here also are a liner 18 and water 21.

FIG. 9 portrays an embodiment of the invention where the thermal storage sink 6 and the thermal storage collector 101 are some distance away from one another, and/or the thermal storage sink 6 and the building or structure 901 (indoor air space), where the thermal energy from the sink will be utilized, are somewhat distant from one another, thermal energy will be lost to the ground as thermal energy is transported through thermal medium conduits 22 unless some insulation is provided. Therefore unbaled waste tires 902 or baled tires 14 surround and/or insulate the conduits. These tires are placed around the pipes when they are laid below ground 405 in a trench connecting the two components, so that the air space within the tires or compacted tire pipes forms a pocket of insulation which separates the pipes from being in contact with the ground itself. Further the waste tires provide support and prevent breakage of the pipes themselves were the ground to shift or heave as a result of freeze thaw or for some other reason (e.g., earthquake). In such a case, shifting in the ground will not harm the pipes because the tires serve as a physical buffer as well as an insulator. These protect and insulate both the thermal storage transports conduit for transporting thermal energy from the thermal collector to said thermal storage sink for storage therein, and the thermal delivery conduit for transporting thermal energy from the thermal storage sink to an indoor-air space for use therein.

The thermal storage sinks shown so far in FIG. 1-9 are “thermal added” storage systems/sinks where additional thermal energy, be it additional heat or additional cold, is added to the sink and stored there until the desired time arises for it to be used. Those systems require insulation. But such is not the case in a geo thermal sink. FIGS. 10A through 16 show various embodiments of geo thermal sinks. In a geo thermal sink it is best that there be as little insulation as possible, except, perhaps, for overhead. In a geo thermal sink the intention is to take the heat or cold put into the sink and get rid of it to the surrounding ground as soon as possible so that the water within the sink can take on the temperature of the ground around it, which stays quite constant throughout the year. In geo thermal sinks pipe styled compacted bales are much more suitable to the task than rectangular bales since the rectangular bales provide far greater insulation. By using pipe-like configurations of baled waste tires, the water within the bale will come in direct contact with the sides of the geo thermal sink, which are in close contact with the surrounding ground. Meanwhile, if water is brought into the sink and is at a temperature higher than ground temperature, that heat will quickly dissipate into the cooler ground around the sink, if there is little insulation. If water brought into the sink is lower in temperature than the surrounding ground, that water within the sink will quickly absorb heat from the surrounding ground.

Geo thermal sinks are pretty much the same as thermal added sinks except for insulation, and except for their source of thermal energy which in the case of geo thermal sinks comes from the ground around the sink itself. Hence there should be as little of a barrier between the sink and the ground around it as possible, except for what is necessary to retain liquid within the sink itself.

FIG. 10A illustrates a geothermal storage sink 1000 with recyclables, in this case with pipe-like baled waste tires 14 within it so as to provide support for the sink itself, the tires being placed in close proximity to the liner 18 so that the water 21 within the sink has minimal insulation between it and the surrounding ground 504, thus allowing it more quickly to take on ground temperature 1001 within. Because heat rises, the temperature at the top of the sink will be higher than the bottom of the sink. Consequently there are two transport pipes 1009 and 1010 within the sink. An upper transport pipe 1009 is placed higher up and a lower transport pipe 1010 is placed lower down. The former extracts warmer water and the latter extracts colder water, depending on the needs of the area to be heated or cooled. Each pipe can act as either a water supply line 11 or a water return line 12. Both usually operate simultaneously so that water levels within the sink stay constant. If water entering the sink is at a higher temperature than the ground temperature that higher temperature will eventually be dispelled to the surrounding ground 504. If the temperature of the water returning is of a lower temperature, the water within the sink will absorb heat from the surrounding ground 504. Water temperature within the sink 1002 will eventually equal ground temperature 1001 if the geo thermal system is inactive for any length of time. Attached to these two entry exit pipes each numbered both 11 and 12 are filters 10 and submersible pumps 4. Also there is a rainwater intake pipe 1003 which is bifurcated so that when water has reached an appropriate level within the sink, a further flow of incoming water 1004 can be diverted elsewhere. The high water mark 16 is naturally situated below the sink liner 18 or vapor barrier 13 to prevent water from overhead from entering the sink. A geo-grid 7 is placed above that to prevent earthen fill from entering the sink itself. There is earthen fill 5 above the sink for insulation from ambient air 1005. The sink is placed below the frost line 1006 so as to better insulate it from seasonal variation.

FIG. 10B illustrates another geo thermal sink 1000 where construction debris 501 fills the interior of the geo thermal sink in place of baled tires. As in FIG. 1 there is a fire hydrant 19 and a pipe 24 connected to the fire hydrant that allows water to be drawn from the sink in times of a fire emergency. There is also a rainwater intake pipe 1003 and a pump 4 which feeds water into the sink itself. The pump 4 attached to the water feed line 11-12, in the lower left side of the figure, is within a hollow shaft 1007 so that maintenance can be done on the pump when necessary. The geo thermal sink 1000 is stationed below the frost line 1006. Fill 5 is placed over the sink as insulation and to prevent debris or other forms of matter from entering the sink itself. A liner 18 is atop the sink or vapor barrier 13 as a geo grid 7 which prevents dirt or debris from falling into the geo thermal sink or from puncturing the liner or vapor barrier. There is a thermal water feed from the sink 1009 on the right side of the drawing which can act as both a feed 11 or a water return 12. On the lower left side of the drawing is another thermal water feed 1010 which can do the same. When one is acting as a feed the other is acting as a return. The two are stationed on different sides of the sink. Each has a filter 10 and a reversible pump 4 for moving water either out of the sink or into it.

FIG. 11 shows a top down view of a geothermal sink with water feed and return lines entering and leaving a structure where they provide heating and/or cooling to the inside space 901. In this embodiment pipe like bales of waste tires 14 run within the sink itself from top to bottom and come in direct contact with the liner 18 substantially everywhere along the periphery. The tire bales' donut openings provide even less thermal insulation than do those sides where the belt alone comes in contact with the liner, but because both belt and sidewall are quite thin, the insulation properties of the tires in general are kept to a minimum. Also, the bales themselves are such that water itself can readily move between the compacted tires of each bale and between the bales themselves. These bales provide structural support for fill overhead (not shown). Outside of the liner are stationed additional compacted waste tire pipes like those within the sink to further support and protect the sink walls from caving in, as are those on the east and west side of the sink which are placed in a vertical position 1101. These vertical bales allow ground contact for this outer perimeter and keep this area at ground temperature 1001. In the upper part of the figure are an intake thermal feed 11 and extraction pipe 12. The pipe 11 on the right is drawing water from the sink 6, 1000, taking it into a building 901, passing it through a cooling coil 1102 where a fan 1103 blows unconditioned air 1104 through holes or openings between the coils 1105 whereupon the air leaves as conditioned air 1106 and cools the space within the building, itself. Meanwhile, if heating is required a heat pump 1107 upstream of the coil 1102 heats the water 21 to a higher temperature and the heated water now is able to pass through the same coil 1102 where the fan 1103 again forces air 1104 through the coil openings 1105 between the fins and so heats the area inside the structure. After leaving the coil, the water than passes through a pipe 1108 which allows the water to reenter the sink. A second heat pump 1107 can be placed in a position, prior to reentry to the sink, so that any thermal energy gained or lost in the heating or cooling of the building could be retrieved prior to the water reentering the sink. Meanwhile, water entering the sink, if at a different temperature of whatever degree, will eventually equalize with the ground temperature 1001 outside of the sink.

FIG. 12 shows us a top down view of a geothermal storage sink 1000 where water 21 from the sink goes into a building 901, is utilized for its thermal energy and thereafter becomes post-utilization water 1201 with additional thermal energy or a lack thereof. Thereafter this water exits the building, now goes into another sink, an acclimation sink 1202, where over time it returns to ground temperature, gaining or losing whatever thermal energy it acquired when it entered the building or some other utilization point, to the surrounding ground 504 around the acclimation sink. A temperature sensor 9 placed near the exit port of the acclimation sink monitors water temperature within the sink and as long as the temperature of water leaving is at ground temperature, water from within the acclimation sink is allowed to leave. That is, the water is prevented from leaving the acclimation tank until it is substantially equal to ground water temperature 1001, and thus is not allowed to leave if it is higher or lower, irrespective of whether the application is heating or cooling. When water is allowed to leave the acclimation sink 1202 and enter a geothermal refill sink 1203, that replenishes whatever water is lost to the main sink 1000 which supplies ground temperature water 21 to the building 901.

FIG. 13 shows another embodiment of a geothermal storage sink where water 21 is not returned to the sink once it is utilized for heating or cooling purposes. In this case a groundwater refill chamber 1300, or two such chambers, are placed right outside the liner 18 of the geo thermal sink itself. Water 21 from within the geothermal sink leaves via a pipe 11 with a filter 10 attached. A pump 4 pumps water through that pipe into a building 901 (not shown) where the thermal energy within the water is utilized for heating or cooling of the building. To return water from the building directly into the sink would be counterproductive to the sinks purpose because eventually the water temperature within the sink would rise or fall to such a point that its ability to service the needs of the building would cease, at least for a period of time. So as to prevent that from happening, water taken from the sink is replenished with groundwater 1301 from outside the sink, from the refill chambers 1300 situated on the outside of the geo thermal sinks liner. In this case there are two such chambers, one on either side of the geo thermal sink 1000. Within each groundwater chamber, baled tires 1101 are stacked outside the liner 18 of the geo thermal sink and a groundwater refill pipe 1302 extends between the compacted tire bale in the refill area 1300 upward until it then curves and enters the geothermal sink. The groundwater refill pipe(s) supply the geothermal sink with whatever water is taken out. A pump 4 is attached to the groundwater refill pipe and as long as the bottom extremity of that pipe is below the water table 1303 ground water is available for refill purposes. By covering over the tires outside the liner with geo grid, or filter fabric 7, a chamber is formed, the groundwater refill chamber 1300. The grid 7 allows water from the surrounding soil 504 to enter into the space 1300 where these upright tire stacks 1101 are located. The geo-grid prevents fines (fine fragments or tiny particles, e.g., of crushed rock) and other debris from entering the chamber. Water permeates into the refill area from a lateral direction, from below, and from any point outside the sink which is below the water table, except for the area situated against the liner of the geothermal sink. The stacked tires, not being watertight, allow water to easily enter between each tire within the bales and fill up all voids within the chamber below the water table. At the top of the refill chamber is another pipe which leads to the surface and attached to this pipe 1304 is a bleeder valve 203 so that when the water rises within the chamber any trapped air inside the chamber escapes up through the pipe. The valve also prevents surface air from heating or cooling water within the groundwater refill chamber. Failure to have such a bleeder valve and pipe would result in air being trapped in the roof of the refill chamber resulting in the chamber not being able to accumulate as much water therein as might be possible as compared to when the bleeder valve and pipe mechanism are so employed. Whatever water leaves the sink to heat or cool the building is replaced by ground refill water 1301 which is then pumped into the sink, so there is always a full supply of water within the sink so that it may fulfill its heating or cooling needs for the building, just so long as the lower part of the pipe within the chamber is below the water line and just so long as water can quickly percolate into the chamber to the extent that water is being removed. Meanwhile, the temperature of the water within the sink remains constant at ground water temperature. Water which leaves the geothermal sink to be used in the building is returned to the ground elsewhere (not shown). Construction debris 501 and baled tires 14 within the geothermal sink help to support the sink itself.

FIG. 14 is much like FIG. 13 though the entire sink 1000 has construction debris 501 and water 21 or brine 26 inside the liner 18. On either side of the sink are refill chambers 1300, are pieces of gravel-sized construction debris 1401 in place of the vertical pipe tire bales. The refill pipes 1302 are shown which connect the refill area to the sink 1000. The geo grid 7 is utilized to separate the ground around from the refill area and to allow ground water to refill the refill area and to prevent fines from entering the area. Air pipes 1304 with bleeder valves 203 are also present. Above the liner 18 at the top of the sink are placed rectangular tire bales 301. Since heat rises and since the greatest loss of heat occurs close to the surface of the ground 405 insulation placed at the top of the sink will most probably be the most advantageous place for situating such bales so as to maintain ground temperature 1001 within the sink. The sink itself is placed below the frost line 1006. Fill 5 is placed above the rectangular bales of tires.

FIG. 15 shows a side view of a geo thermal sink 1000 with a shallow well 1501 beside the sink itself where water from the well with a fluidic connection to the sink replenishes any water taken out of the geothermal sink utilized by a building for heating or cooling purposes. A check valve 1502 is placed on the well water feed pipe 1503 to the geothermal sink. Because in this case the flow rate from the underground stream 1504 which supplies well water is not nearly sufficient to take care of the needs of the structure, which takes water from the geo thermal sink, the remaining water needed comes from an additional water source feed 1505, or from the normal sink water supply feed 12 to the geothermal sink source, such as a refill sink (not shown). Were water flow from the underground stream sufficient to take care of the structures needs year round then there would be no need for the geo thermal sink. Of course there is recyclable material within the sink itself, in this case construction debris 501. Earthen fill 504 is under the structure and around the sink and the sink itself is situated below the frost line 1006. 18 shows the liner around the geo thermal sink.

FIG. 16 provides a side view of a geo thermal sink 1000 and an underground stream 1504 which either singly or in combination feeds ground water at ground temperature to a building 901 for heating or cooling purposes. When the stream 1504 is flowing copiously and the water table is high 1601 the stream alone supplies ground water at ground temperature to the building 901. As the seasons change and the flow of water from the stream decreases the geo thermal sink makes up the difference. When the low water table mark 1602 is reached and water from the underground stream drops to such a point that little or no water is flowing, the geo thermal sink provides all water utilized by the building for heating or cooling purposes. This figure shows the well water feed 1503 to the building, the geothermal sink 1000 with pipe like baled tires 14 within the sink, the sinks liner 18, the sinks water feed to the building 11 with a filter 10, so any sediment from the geothermal sink does not enter the building and the ground surface level 405 above the sink are all shown. With a geothermal sink and an underground stream, the heating and cooling needs of a structure can be taken care of on a year round basis, even if the stream dries up during certain seasons of the year.

Having reviewed the drawings, let us now review some additional benefits and features of the invention disclosed herein.

In many instances, it is preferable and far less expensive to use water in place of glycol in the circulation system of a thermal storage system which runs through the paving surface for the “thermal added” systems. Glycol is far more expensive than water and if there is a leak in any of the hoses which run across the parking lot it can cause environmental problems. Using water in its place within the system is less costly and less dangerous. In winter time when water is taken either from the heat or cold sink and is pumped through tubes in the pavement either to defrost it or to prevent snow build up some moisture would ordinarily remain which could cause clogging and rupture. To prevent this a blower system can be included in the system which is activated after water ceases to flow through the tubes in the pavement. These blowers removes any moisture droplets left in the upper surface tubes to purge the system and eliminate any freezing danger.

Thermal energy storage systems are affected by the laws of thermodynamics. Objects or materials gain or lose heat depending on the elements around them and the density of each. Insulation can slow down thermal energy loss or gain, temperature differentials and movement. If an object is moving (e.g. if water is flowing) it must give up more thermal energy before it can freeze than if it is standing still. If an object or a substance, such as a liquid, namely water or water droplets, are allowed to remain immobile in the plastic or copper tubing in the upper surface of a parking lot in the wintertime, when the parking lot is very cold, those water droplets will soon turn to ice. But if those water droplets are blown out of the tubing, located near the surface of the parking lot, after the pump which pumps the water stops, then freezing will not occur for they will drain back down to the storage tank or to the sink itself below the frost line. Therefore if water is to be used as a thermal medium in the parking lot array during the winter, it must be kept from remaining immobile in the surface tubing, or the only alternative is to use a far more costly liquid such as glycol which will not freeze at the temperature water does.

Thermal storage sinks are often manmade aquifers and so contain a large body of water. In times of emergency such water can be optionally tapped to extinguish a blaze. Referring to FIG. 1 (and similar capacity may be provided in relation to FIG. 2 or FIGS. 10-14), a firefighting conduit (e.g., shaft or pipe) 24 can extends from the surface down to where water is found in the thermal storage sink, and preferably to provide maximum pressure, all the way down almost to the liner. Over the shaft is a fire hydrant or similar device 19 for tapping into and extracting the water. In times of fire emergency, fire fighters can thus tap into the water stored in the aquifer to help fight the blaze. Holes or shafts of this nature could also be placed in parking lots where there are underground retention ponds as well, below a roadway or parking lot. In those cases, water available in the aquifer can be used to help protect nearby buildings. If added pressure is required, a pressure pump (not shown) may be provided to force air down into the aquifer and increase pressure, so that water that is drawn up through the shaft or pipe 24 will have pressure sufficient for effective firefighting.

Finally, it is important to explore more thoroughly, the particular structural advantages of baled tires, in addition to their thermal characteristics. Thermal storage sinks of any type, be they thermal added or geothermal, require that there be little if any settling of the ground overhead. Otherwise uneven depressions will form and the surface area will be unusable and even dangerous. This can cause the asphalt or concrete overhead to crack or buckle in short order and be useless or unsightly. Even if only grass were planted overhead settling can create such an uneven surface that people who walk upon it can trip and fall creating liability issues for the owners of the property itself.

Baled tires whether in rectangular form or pipe like configurations provide extremely stable and even reinforcement and when put into a configuration with other bales of the same shape their stabilizing capabilities are only enhanced, whereupon the upper surface above the sink becomes even more stable and less likely to cave in. Having already been compressed with as much as 36,000 lbs of pressure by hydraulic cylinders, baled tires cannot be compressed much more, even under extreme loads. Hence there will be little deflection even when greater amounts of weight are placed upon them. If the bales are in a pipelike configuration they also have nesting tendencies which add still further to the reinforcement strength of the mass itself.

Baled tires also allow for large volumes of water to be incorporated within the sink. The liquid can freely travel within the bales themselves and between the spaces between one compact tire and another within each bale. The liquid within a sink is one of the main retainers of thermal energy and the transport mechanism used by a sink to transport that energy either to or from another location. For the most part this liquid takes on thermal energy more quickly than solids and so a thermal sink should have the capability of retaining and holding a great volume of liquid. Baled tires allow for a high percentage of liquid volume within a sink and provide for easy circulation of that liquid so that thermal energy can be easily removed and easily acquired by the sink itself.

Tire bales also limit the spaces within a sink where unreachable pockets or voids might form, where the liquid therein cannot be retrieved, since as mentioned, compacted tires, within the bales, still allow for the free flow of a liquid between each individual compacted tires and between the bales themselves. Further the pipes within the sink are protected by the tire bales since they can absorb shock. They buffer a shocks intensity and dissipate the force so that even if an earthquake were to occur, the liner should remain undamaged and the pipes unbroken. Especially if tire bales are set about the perimeter of the sink or if they are placed in a sinks interior, the ground above should not cave in from such a natural disaster since the baled tires dissipate the force of a quake to areas outside the sink itself. Further, because of a tire bales large mass and extreme weight, which is anywhere between 500 pounds and a ton or more each, they prevent cave in or shifting of the pipes surrounded and protected by the bales. Thus, any force that might have been placed on them is mitigated to an extreme degree and such protection is only enhanced when one tire bale is placed against another.

For all of the above reasons, baled tires make for an ideal material to be used in a thermal storage sinks, be they geothermal sinks or thermal added sinks. A compacted baled tires qualities make this material unique and hard to find in other materials, leaving them ideally suited for the construction of a thermal sink of large size. And, when baled tires are used for this purpose, one is simultaneously solving the waste problem that is otherwise presented by baled tires sitting in landfills.

Even plastic pipes, which might be used as an inferior replacement, are not as ideally suited to the job. Plastic pipes lack the strength of baled tires which have steel reinforcement, they do not last as long before they start to deteriorate, they do not have the mass or weight, and they cost far more. In fact utilizing plastic pipe as an alternative to the baled tires within a thermal sink could cost as much as a quarter of a million dollars more per acre and would make the construction of large manmade thermal sinks prohibitively expensive.

Another benefit to the use of baled tires in large thermal sinks, where millions of gallons of liquid may be contained, is that baled tires, and the sinks in which they are used, eliminate the need for drilling, which has to be done if a vertical open or closed loop geothermal systems is to be constructed. Particularly, geothermal systems, used for large commercial structures, require large bodies of water to serve as a way to supply them with the necessary thermal energy they need. Such a source of supply is often an underground aquifer, river or stream. To reach such a large water body, drilling is necessary. If the system utilizes natural steam in place of water or goes through hot rock, drilling, and the installation of a casing, is necessary so that the energy from below the surface can be tapped. Where none of these natural sources of thermal energy are available, then many drill holes are dug, into the earth, often 25 feet or more. These often go down about 200 hundred feet with miles of tubing installed, through which a liquid travels which acquires the thermal properties of the ground itself whose energy is necessary for a large structures heating or cooling needs. All such methods are extremely costly and all such methods become unnecessary when a large thermal sink is constructed with baled tires. The result is that a thermal sink which utilizes baled tires may cost only a fraction of what would otherwise be the case.

The knowledge possessed by someone of ordinary skill in the art at the time of this disclosure is understood to be part and parcel of this disclosure and is implicitly incorporated by reference herein, even if in the interest of economy express statements about the specific knowledge understood to be possessed by someone of ordinary skill are omitted from this disclosure. While reference may be made in this disclosure to the invention comprising a combination of a plurality of elements, it is also understood that this invention is regarded to comprise combinations which omit or exclude one or more of such elements, even if this omission or exclusion of an element or elements is not expressly stated herein, unless it is expressly stated herein that an element is essential to applicant's combination and cannot be omitted. It is further understood that the related prior art may include elements from which this invention may be distinguished by negative claim limitations, even without any express statement of such negative limitations herein. It is to be understood, between the positive statements of applicant's invention expressly stated herein, and the prior art and knowledge of the prior art by those of ordinary skill which is incorporated herein even if not expressly reproduced here for reasons of economy, that any and all such negative claim limitations supported by the prior art are also considered to be within the scope of this disclosure and its associated claims, even absent any express statement herein about any particular negative claim limitations.

While only certain preferred features of the invention have been illustrated and described, many modifications, changes and substitutions will occur to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the invention. 

1. A thermal storage system (100), comprising: a thermal collector (101); a thermal storage sink (6,102,1000); at least one thermal storage transport conduit (8,11,12,22,1108,1302,1503,1505) for transporting thermal energy from said thermal collector (101) to said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) for storage therein; at least one thermal delivery conduit (8,11,12,22,1108,1302,1503,1505) for transporting said thermal energy from said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) to an indoor-air space (901) for use therein; a thermal storage liquid (20,21,26) within said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000); and baled waste tires (14, 301) for enhancing thermal storage.
 2. The system (100) of claim 1, further comprising a liner (18) for substantially containing said thermal storage liquid (20,21,26) from within said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000).
 3. The system (100) of claim 1, wherein said baled waste tires (14, 301) are within said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000).
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein said baled waste tires (14, 301) are substantially around a perimeter of said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000).
 5. The system (100) of claim 1, wherein said baled waste tires (14, 301) are both within said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) and around a perimeter of said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000).
 6. The system (100) of claim 1, further comprising: at least some of said baled waste tires (14, 301) outside of said liner (18) relative to said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000).
 7. The system (100) of claim 1, further comprising some of said baled waste tires (14, 301) positioned about an outer perimeter of said a thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) for insulating said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) from its outside environs (504).
 8. The system (100) of claim 1, further comprising some of said baled waste tires (14, 301) positioned to provide structural support to said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000).
 9. The system (100) of claim 1, further comprising some of said baled waste tires (14, 301) positioned within said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) for adding thermal mass to said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000).
 10. The system (100) of claim 1, wherein said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) is underground (504).
 11. The system (100) of claim 1, said at least one thermal storage transport conduit (8,11,12,22,1108,1302,1503,1505) utilizing said thermal storage liquid (20,21,26) for transporting said thermal energy from said thermal collector (101) to said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000).
 12. The system (100) of claim 1, said at least one thermal delivery conduit (8,11,12,22,1108,1302,1503,1505) utilizing said thermal storage liquid (20,21,26) for transporting said thermal energy from said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) to the indoor air space (901).
 13. The system (100) of claim 1, said at least one thermal storage transport conduit (8,11,12,22,1108,1302,1503,1505) utilizing a liquid (20,21,26) other than said thermal storage liquid (21,26) for transporting said thermal energy from said thermal collector (101) to said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000).
 14. The system (100) of claim 1, said at least one thermal delivery conduit (8,11,12,22,1108,1302,1503,1505) utilizing a liquid (20,21,26) other than said thermal storage liquid (21,26) for transporting said thermal energy from said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) to the indoor-air space (901).
 15. The system (100) of claim 1, wherein at least part of said thermal collector (101) is above said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000).
 16. The system (100) of claim 1, further comprising at least some of said baled waste tires (14, 301) baled into substantially rectangular parallelepipeds.
 17. The system (100) of claim 1, further comprising at least some of said baled waste tires (14, 301) baled such that open centers of said tires align to form a substantially pipelike configuration, thereby forming pipelike passages within these pipelike bales (14).
 18. The system (100) of claim 1, further comprising: waste tires placed around at least part of said conduits 8,11,12,22,1108,1302,1503,1505), outside of said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000), with at least some air spaces (503) between said waste tires and said conduits (8,11,12,22,1108,1302,1503,1505), whereby: said waste tires (14,301) and air spaces (503) insulate said conduit 8,11,12,22,1108,1302,1503,1505)s from exchanging heat with ground proximate thereto; and simultaneously, said waste tires (14,301) and air spaces (503) protect said conduit (8,11,12,22,1108,1302,1503,1505)s from damage due to ground shifting or heaving.
 19. The system (100) of claim 1, further comprising at least a portion of said conduits (8,11,12,22,1108,1302,1503,1505) running through spaces within said baled waste tires (14, 301).
 20. The system (100) of claim 1, further comprising at least a portion of said conduits (8,11,12,22,1108,1302,1503,1505) running through spaces between said baled waste tires (14, 301).
 21. The system (100) of claim 1, further comprising at least some recyclable fill material (14,301,402,403) placed above a top liquid (20,21,26) line (16) of said thermal storage liquid (20,21,26).
 22. The system (100) of claim 21, said recyclable fill material (14,301,402,403) insulating said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000).
 23. The system (100) of claim 21, wherein: said recyclable fill material (14,301,402,403) is substantially non-organic; said recyclable fill material (14,301,402,403) is substantially non-biodegradable; and said recyclable fill material (14,301,402,403) also provides structural support to said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000).
 24. The system (100) of claim 1, further comprising a vapor barrier (13) above a top liquid (20,21,26) line (16) of said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) for preventing liquid 20,21,26) or vapor from entering said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) from above.
 25. The system (100) of claim 1, further comprising: a protective barrier placed above a top liquid (20,21,26) line (16) of said thermal storage liquid (20,21,26) for preventing materials (5) above said thermal storage liquid (20,21,26) from falling into said thermal storage liquid (20,21,26); said protective barrier (7) comprising protective barrier materials (7) selected from at least one of the protective barrier material group consisting of: a geogrid (7), tar paper (7), and a filter fabric (7).
 26. The system (100) of claim 1, further comprising concrete blocks (404) substantially containing at least some of baled waste tires (14, 301).
 27. The system (100) of claim 1, further comprising baled waste plastic (402,403) substantially filling portions of said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000).
 28. The system (100) of claim 1, further comprising at least one air pump (202) for purging liquid (20,21,26) from portions of said conduits (8,11,12,22,1108,1302,1503,1505) which are subjected to freezing temperatures during cold weather, in response to expecting said cold weather.
 29. The system (100) of claim 1, said thermal storage liquid (20,21,26) comprising water (21).
 30. The system (100) of claim 1, wherein a thermal transport liquid (20,21,26) used to transport said thermal energy through at least some of said conduits (8,11,12,22,1108,1302,1503,1505) is selected from the thermal transport liquid (20,21,26) group consisting of at least one of: glycol, antifreeze, brine (26), and water (21).
 31. The system (100) of claim 1, at least part of said thermal collector (101) comprising a surface (2) selected from at least one of the surface group consisting of: a driveway (2), a roadway (2), a parking lot (2), and a walkway (2).
 32. The system (100) of claim 31, further comprising said at least one thermal storage transport conduit (8,11,12,22,1108,1302,1503,1505) for further transporting thermal heat energy from said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) to said thermal collector (101) to melt frozen precipitate upon said surface (2), in response to weather conditions requiring said frozen precipitate to be melted.
 33. The system (100) of claim 1, said thermal collector (101) comprising solar collectors (101).
 34. The system (100) of claim 1, further comprising a firefighting conduit (24) for using said thermal storage liquid (21,26) within said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) to fight a fire.
 35. A thermal storage system (100), comprising: a thermal collector (101); a thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) located at least partially underground (504); at least one thermal storage transport conduit (8,11,12,22,1108,1302,1503,1505) for transporting thermal energy from said thermal collector (101) to said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) for storage therein; at least one thermal delivery conduit (8,11,12,22,1108,1302,1503,1505) for transporting said thermal energy from said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) to an indoor-air space (901) for use therein; a thermal storage liquid (20,21,26) within said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000); and recyclable fill material (14,301,402,403) within said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000).
 36. The system (100) of claim 35, wherein: said recyclable fill material (14,301,402,403) is substantially non-organic; said recyclable fill material (14,301,402,403) is substantially non-biodegradable; and said recyclable fill material (14,301,402,403) also provides structural support to said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000).
 37. The system (100) of claim 35, said recyclable fill material (14,301,402,403) comprising ground recycled glass (502).
 38. The system (100) of claim 35, said recyclable fill material (14,301,402,403) comprising construction debris (501).
 39. The system (100) of claim 35, said recyclable fill material (14,301,402,403) comprising waste plastic (402,403).
 40. The system (100) of claim 35, further comprising at least one air pump (202) for purging liquid (20,21,26) from portions of said conduits (8,11,12,22,1108,1302,1503,1505) which are subjected to freezing temperatures during cold weather, in response to expecting said cold weather.
 41. The system (100) of claim 35, at least part of said thermal collector (101) comprising a surface (2) selected from at least one of the surface group consisting of: a driveway (2), a roadway (2), a parking lot (2), and a walkway (2).
 42. The system (100) of claim 41, further comprising said at least one thermal storage transport conduit (8,11,12,22,1108,1302,1503,1505) for further transporting thermal heat energy from said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) to said thermal collector (101) to melt frozen precipitate upon said surface, in response to weather conditions requiring said frozen precipitate to be melted.
 43. The system (100) of claim 35, further comprising a firefighting conduit (24) for using said thermal storage liquid (20,21,26) within said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) to fight a fire.
 44. A thermal storage method, comprising: transporting thermal energy from a thermal collector (101) to a thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) for storage therein, using at least one thermal storage transport conduit (8,11,12,22,1108,1302,1503,1505) therefor; transporting said thermal energy from said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) to an indoor-air space (901) for use therein, using at least one thermal delivery conduit (8,11,12,22,1108,1302,1503,1505) therefor; providing a thermal storage liquid (20,21,26) within said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000); and enhancing thermal storage using baled waste tires (14, 301).
 45. The method of claim 44, further comprising substantially containing said thermal storage liquid (20,21,26) from within said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000), using a liner (18) therefor.
 46. The method of claim 44, further comprising providing said baled waste tires (14, 301) within said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000).
 47. The method of claim 44, further comprising providing said baled waste tires (14, 301) substantially around a perimeter of said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000).
 48. The method of claim 44, further comprising providing said baled waste tires (14, 301) both within said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) and around a perimeter of said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000).
 49. The method of claim 44, further comprising: providing at least some of said baled waste tires (14, 301) outside of said liner (18) relative to said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000).
 50. The method of claim 44, further comprising insulating said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) from its outside environs (504) by positioning some of said baled waste tires (14, 301) about an outer perimeter of said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000).
 51. The method of claim 44, further comprising positioning some of said baled waste tires (14, 301) to provide structural support to said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000).
 52. The method of claim 44, further comprising adding thermal mass to said thermal storage sink by positioning some of said baled waste tires (14, 301) within said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000).
 53. The method of claim 44, wherein said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) is underground (504).
 54. The method of claim 44, further comprising utilizing said thermal storage liquid (20,21,26) for transporting said thermal energy from said thermal collector (101) to said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) via said at least one thermal storage transport conduit (8,11,12,22,1108,1302,1503,1505).
 55. The method of claim 44, further comprising utilizing said thermal storage liquid (20,21,26) for transporting said thermal energy from said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) to the indoor-air space (901) via said at least one thermal delivery conduit (8,11,12,22,1108,1302,1503,1505).
 56. The method of claim 44, further comprising utilizing a liquid (20,21,26) other than said thermal storage liquid (20,21,26) for transporting said thermal energy from said thermal collector (101) to said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) via said at least one thermal storage transport conduit (8,11,12,22,1108,1302,1503,1505).
 57. The method of claim 44, further comprising utilizing a liquid (20,21,26) other than said thermal storage liquid (20,21,26) for transporting said thermal energy from said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) to the indoor air space (901) via said at least one thermal delivery conduit (8,11,12,22,1108,1302,1503,1505).
 58. The method of claim 44, wherein at least part of said thermal collector (101) is above said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000).
 59. The method of claim 44, further comprising providing at least some of said baled waste tires (14, 301) baled into substantially rectangular parallelepipeds (301).
 60. The method of claim 44, further comprising baling at least some of said baled waste tires (14, 301) such that open centers of said tires align to form a substantially pipelike configuration (14, 1001), thereby forming pipelike passages within these pipelike bales (14,1001).
 61. The method of claim 44, further comprising: placing waste tires (402,403) around at least part of said conduits (8,11,12,22,1108,1302,1503,1505), outside of said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000), with at least some air spaces (503) between said waste tires (14,301) and said conduits (8,11,12,22,1108,1302,1503,1505): said waste tires (14,301) and air spaces (503) thereby insulating said conduit (8,11,12,22,1108,1302,1503,1505)s from exchanging heat with ground (504) proximate thereto; and simultaneously, said waste tires (14,301) and air spaces (503) thereby protecting said conduits (8,11,12,22,1108,1302,1503,1505) from damage due to ground shifting or heaving.
 62. The method of claim 44, further comprising running at least a portion of said conduits (8,11,12,22,1108,1302,1503,1505) running through spaces within said baled waste tires (14, 301).
 63. The method of claim 44, further comprising running at least a portion of said conduits (8,11,12,22,1108,1302,1503,1505) through spaces between said baled waste tires (14, 301).
 64. The method of claim 44, further comprising placing at least some recyclable fill material (14,301,402,403) above a top liquid (20,21,26) line (16) of said thermal storage liquid (20,21,26).
 65. The method of claim 64, insulating said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) using said recyclable fill material (14,301,402,403).
 66. The method of claim 64, wherein: said recyclable fill material (14,301,402,403) is substantially non-organic; said recyclable fill material (14,301,402,403) is substantially non-biodegradable; and said recyclable fill material (14,301,402,403) also provides structural support to said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000).
 67. The method of claim 44, further comprising preventing liquid (20,21,26) or vapor (13) from entering said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) from above, using a vapor barrier (13) situated above a top liquid (20,21,26) line (16) of said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000).
 68. The method of claim 44, further comprising: placing a protective barrier (7) above a top liquid (20,21,26) line (16) of said thermal storage liquid (20,21,26) for preventing materials (5) above said thermal storage liquid (20,21,26) from falling into said thermal storage liquid (20,21,26); wherein: said protective barrier (7) comprises protective barrier materials selected from at least one of the protective barrier material group consisting of: a geogrid (7), tar paper (7), and a filter fabric (7).
 69. The method of claim 44, further comprising providing concrete blocks (404) substantially containing at least some of baled waste tires (14, 301).
 70. The method of claim 44, further comprising substantially filling portions of said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) with baled waste plastic (402,403).
 71. The method of claim 44, further comprising purging liquid (20,21,26) from portions of said conduits (8,11,12,22,1108,1302,1503,1505) which are subjected to freezing temperatures during cold weather, using at least one air pump (202) therefor, responsive to expecting said cold weather.
 72. The method of claim 44, said thermal storage liquid (20,21,26) comprising water (21).
 73. The method of claim 44, further comprising selecting a thermal transport liquid (20,21,26) used to transport said thermal energy through at least some of said conduits (8,11,12,22,1108,1302,1503,1505) from the thermal transport liquid (20,21,26) group consisting of at least one of: glycol (20), antifreeze (20), brine (26), and water (21).
 74. The method of claim 44, at least part of said thermal collector (101) comprising a surface (2) selected from at least one of the surface group consisting of: a driveway (2), a roadway (2), a parking lot (2), and a walkway (2).
 75. The method of claim 74, further comprising further transporting thermal heat energy from said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) to said thermal collector (101) to melt frozen precipitate upon said surface via said at least one thermal storage transport conduit (8,11,12,22,1108,1302,1503,1505), in response to weather conditions requiring said frozen precipitate to be melted.
 76. The method of claim 44, said thermal collector (101) comprising solar collectors (101).
 77. The method of claim 44, further comprising using said thermal storage liquid (20,21,26) within said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) to fight a fire, using a firefighting conduit (24) therefor.
 78. A thermal storage method, comprising: transporting thermal energy from a thermal collector (101) to a thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) for storage therein, using at least one thermal storage transport conduit (8,11,12,22,1108,1302,1503,1505) therefor; transporting said thermal energy from said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) to an indoor-air space (901) for use therein, using at least one thermal delivery conduit (8,11,12,22,1108,1302,1503,1505) therefor; providing a thermal storage liquid (20,21,26) within said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000); and providing recyclable fill material (14,301,402,403) within said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000).
 79. The method of claim 78, wherein: said recyclable fill material (14,301,402,403) is substantially non-organic; said recyclable fill material (14,301,402,403) is substantially non-biodegradable; and said recyclable fill material (14,301,402,403) also provides structural support to said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000).
 80. The method of claim 78, said recyclable fill material (14,301,402,403) comprising construction debris (501).
 81. The method of claim 78, said recyclable fill material comprising construction debris.
 82. The method of claim 78, said recyclable fill material (14,301,402,403) comprising waste plastic (402,403).
 83. The method of claim 78, further comprising purging liquid (20,21,26) from portions of said conduits (8,11,12,22,1108,1302,1503,1505) which are subjected to freezing temperatures during cold weather, using at least one air pump (202) therefor, responsive to expecting said cold weather.
 84. The method of claim 78, at least part of said thermal collector (101) comprising a surface (2) selected from at least one of the surface group (2) consisting of: a driveway (2), a roadway (2), a parking lot (2), and a walkway (2).
 85. The method of claim 84, further comprising further transporting thermal heat energy from said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) to said thermal collector (101) to melt frozen precipitate upon said surface (2) via said at least one thermal storage transport conduit (8,11,12,22,1108,1302,1503,1505), in response to weather conditions requiring said frozen precipitate to be melted.
 86. The method of claim 78, further comprising using said thermal storage liquid (20,21,26) within said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) to fight a fire, using a firefighting conduit (24) therefor.
 87. A thermal storage sink (6,102,1000), comprising: a sink (6,102,1000); liquid (20,21,26) within said sink (6,102,1000); and at least one recyclable material comprising baled tires (14,301) for at least one of the following functions: providing insulation, providing a free flow of liquid therethrough, providing thermal mass, providing structural support to a said sink, resisting settling of a surface above said sink, buffering shock to said sink, protecting pipes or conduits located within or serving said sink, averting deflection, eliminating or reducing costly drilling, reducing a need for plastic tubing, eliminating casing, reducing thermal sink construction costs.
 88. The thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) of claim 87, further comprising a refill chamber (1301) for refilling said sink (6,102,1000) when said liquid (20,21,26) is removed therefrom for transporting said thermal energy.
 89. The thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) of claim 87, further comprising at least some of said baled tires (14, 301) baled into at least one of: pipe like bales (14), rectangular bales (301), square bales (301).
 90. The thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) of claim 87, further comprising rectangular tire bales (301) situated on at least one side of its perimeter.
 91. The thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) of claim 87, wherein: said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) is connected with an acclimation sink (1202); and said liquid (20,21,26) after utilization for transporting thermal energy to said indoor-air space (901) is returned to said acclimation sink (1202) and prevented from reentering said sink (6,102,1000) until a temperature of water in said acclimation tank is detected to be substantially equal to that of liquid in said sink (6,102,1000).
 92. The thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) of claim 87, further comprising a fluidic attachment of said sink (6,102,1000) to at least one of a well (1501) or underground stream (1504) for replenishing any fluid taken from said sink (6,102,1000).
 93. The thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) of claim 87, further comprising a firefighting conduit (24) for using said thermal storage liquid (20,21,26) within said sink (6,102,1000) to fight a fire.
 94. The thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) of claim 87, said sink (6,102,1000) further comprising at least 10,000 gallons of liquid (20,21,26) therein during at least 90 days of the year.
 95. The thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) of claim 87, further comprising at least one additional recyclable material selected from the group consisting of: construction debris (501), baled waste plastic (402,403), and waste glass (502).
 96. The thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) of claim 87, said bailed tires (301) substantially covering a roof of said sink (6,102,1000) for insulating said sink (6,102,1000) from temperatures above ground.
 97. The thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) of claim 87, comprising a thermal added (102) sink.
 98. The thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) of claim 87, comprising a geothermal (1000) sink.
 99. A method of using a thermal storage sink (6,102,1000), comprising: providing a sink (6,102,1000); providing liquid (20,21,26) within said sink (6,102,1000); and using least one recyclable material comprising baled tires (14,301) for at least one of the following functions: providing insulation, providing a free flow of liquid therethrough, providing thermal mass, providing structural support to a said sink, resisting settling of a surface above said sink, buffering shock to said sink, protecting pipes or conduits located within or serving said sink, averting deflection, eliminating or reducing costly drilling, reducing a need for plastic tubing, eliminating casing, reducing thermal sink construction costs.
 100. The method of claim 99, further comprising refilling said sink (6,102,1000) when said liquid (20,21,26) is removed therefrom for transporting said thermal energy, using a refill chamber (1301) therefor.
 101. The method of claim 99, further comprising at least some of said baled tires (14, 301) baled into at least one of: pipe like bales (14), rectangular bales (301), square bales (301).
 102. The method of claim 99, further comprising situating rectangular tire bales (301) on at least one side of a perimeter of said sink (6,102,1000).
 103. The method of claim 99, further comprising: connecting said sink (6,102,1000) with an acclimation sink (1202); and after utilizing said liquid (20,21,26) for transporting thermal energy to said indoor-air space (901), returning said liquid (20,21,26) to said acclimation sink (1202) and preventing said liquid (20,21,26) from reentering said sink (6,102,1000) until a temperature of water in said acclimation tank is detected to be substantially equal to that of liquid in said sink (6,102,1000).
 104. The method of claim 99, further comprising replenishing any fluid taken from said sink (6,102,1000) using a fluidic attachment of said sink (6,102,1000) to at least one of a well (1501) or underground stream (1504) therefor.
 105. The method of claim 99, further comprising fight a fire using said thermal storage liquid (20,21,26) within said sink (6,102,1000), via using a firefighting conduit (24) therefor.
 106. The method of claim 99, said sink (6,102,1000) further comprising at least 10,000 gallons of liquid (20,21,26) therein during at least 90 days of the year.
 107. The method of claim 99, further comprising using at least one additional recyclable material selected from the group consisting of: construction debris (501), baled waste plastic (402,403), and waste glass (502).
 108. The method of claim 99, further comprising substantially covering a roof of said sink (6,102,1000) for insulating said sink (6,102,1000) from temperatures above ground, using said bailed tires (301) therefor.
 109. The method of claim 99, said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) comprising a thermal added (102) sink.
 110. The method of claim 99, said thermal storage sink (6,102,1000) comprising a geothermal (1000) sink. 